About iOS 12 Updates

iOS 12 brings performance improvements and exciting new features to iPhone and iPad. Photos introduces new features to help you rediscover and share the photos in your library, Memoji—a new, more customizable Animoji—make Messages more expressive and fun, Screen Time helps you and your family understand and make the most of the time spent on devices, Siri Shortcuts deliver a faster way to get things done with the ability for any app to work with Siri, augmented reality becomes even more engaging with the ability for developers to create shared AR experiences, and new privacy features help protect you from being tracked on the web.

iOS 12.1

iOS 12.1 introduces Group FaceTime, adds over 70 new emoji, and includes support for Dual SIM with eSIM for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.

Group FaceTime

Adds support for video and audio calls with up to 32 participants simultaneously

Encrypted end-to-end so your conversations remain private

Start Group FaceTime right from a group Messages conversation, or join an active call at any time

Emoji

Over 70 new emoji, including new characters with red hair, gray hair and curly hair, new emoji for bald people, more emotive smiley faces and additional emoji representing animals, sports and food

Dual SIM support

Introduces Dual SIM with eSIM which allows two numbers in one device for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR

Adds the ability to change or reset your child’s Screen Time passcode using Face ID or Touch ID

Fixes an issue where the sharpest reference frame was not always selected in front-facing photos for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR

Resolves an issue that caused messages to be merged into one thread when two users were signed in with the same Apple ID on multiple iPhones

Addresses an issue that prevented some voicemails from appearing in the Phone app

Resolves an issue in the Phone app that could cause phone numbers to appear without their corresponding contact name

Fixes an issue that could prevent Screen Time from reporting specific websites in the activity report

Addresses an issue that could prevent adding or removing family members from Family Sharing

Adds a performance management feature to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down, including the option to disable this feature if an unexpected shutdown occurs, for iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

Adds the ability for Battery Health to inform users that it is unable to verify if a genuine Apple battery is in iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR

Improves reliability of VoiceOver in Camera, Siri, and Safari

Fixes an issue that could cause MDM Device Enrollment to report an Invalid Profile error for some enterprise users